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Lewiston council adopts consolidated fee schedule, approves utility and service increases
Summary
The Lewiston City Council adopted a consolidated fee resolution effective Oct. 1, 2026, that rounds and updates dozens of fees across departments and raises utility rates modestly; city staff said the average household should expect about a $5.08 monthly increase.
Lewiston City Council approved a consolidated fee schedule and multiple fee changes at its June 22 meeting, accepting updates across ambulance, parks and recreation, cemetery, business licensing, planning and utilities that city staff said are intended to improve transparency and keep enterprise funds solvent.
City treasurer Amy Gordon told council the administration combined individual fee resolutions into a single, annually updated fee resolution to make charges “more transparent” and consistent across departments and announced the changes would take effect Oct. 1, 2026. Fire Chief Greg Grahm said the Emergency Medical Services advisory board reviewed ambulance charges and recommended increases tied to a regional market study and a 6.5% labor-related adjustment used to reflect recent pay settlements.
Mayor and staff framed the resolution as housekeeping and fiscal management. Public Works Director Dustin Johnson said the largest civic impact is in utilities: the proposal includes a 5.5% water rate increase, a 1% wastewater increase, a $1 per ERU increase for stormwater in the two residential zones (for example zone one from $7.40 to $8.40) and a 1.5% rise in sanitation rates. Johnson illustrated the combined impact with what he called a model household bill, saying the package would amount to “a $5 bill increase each month on your utility bill” for a typical family of four using five units (500 cubic feet) of water.
Parks and Recreation Director Justin Glenn described process-oriented changes such as moving to a two-hour minimum for community-center rentals, new field-prep and cleanup fees, hourly pricing for tournament fields, a nominal $2 daily community-event board fee and new fees tied to use of recently added pickleball facilities. Rob Hayes, who represented Brighton Canyon Golf Course operations, outlined additional pass types the course is selling (including a spouse pass and corporate pass options) and explained why cart-storage fees rose: Hayes said storage at the course is a limited, per-year amenity and that local market comparisons support the increases.
Public commenter Rita Eisley of Lewiston raised specific concerns about Brighton Canyon cart-storage and parking-barn fees, noting some line items rose by double-digit percentages; Rob Hayes acknowledged the concern and said he would confirm exact pricing changes for the spouse pass and corporate packages.
Councilor Klein moved approval of Resolution 2026-26 to restate and adopt the consolidated fee schedule; Councilor Wright seconded. The clerk recorded roll-call votes of Council President Kleeberg, Councilor Wright, Councilor Forsman, Councilor Klein and Councilor Mori — all voting "Aye." The resolution passed on a unanimous vote.
What happens next: the fee resolution takes effect Oct. 1, 2026. Staff said some fees (for example, new cemetery columbarium interment charges and specified fire-construction permits) will be implemented as part of department workflows; the finance office will publish the consolidated schedule online and answer follow-up questions about individual line-item changes.
(Reporting note: the meeting transcript alternately refers to the finance director as "Amy Courtney" and then as "Amy Gordon." In the staff presentation the presenter introduced herself as Amy Gordon, city treasurer; the transcript inconsistency is noted in the public record and staff confirmation is reflected above.)
